Finance Coordinator

Who We Are! 

🌍 Africa has the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population. By 2035, the continent is poised to contribute more young people to the global workforce each year than the rest of the world combined. 

At Educate! we're obsessed with impact. We leverage iterative learning to build highly scalable youth employment solutions aimed at unlocking the potential of the world’s youngest continent. 

Educate! prepares youth in Africa to learn, earn and thrive in today’s economy by: 

1. Introducing an employment-focused school subject into secondary and 
2. Delivering livelihood boot camps for out-of-school youth, with a focus on marginalized rural girls and young women.

To date, more than 500,000 youth have been meaningfully impacted across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and along the way, Educate! has become the largest youth employment and skills provider in East Africa.

Educate! is a team of over 300 largely African staff and 300 volunteer youth mentors. We prioritize building an engaging, fulfilling and growth oriented work environment. 50% of our top 30 leaders have been with us for over 5 years, 10+ alumni have started their own organizations, and 6 current or former team members were Acumen Fund East Africa fellows. 

We have been backed by top foundations such as Imaginable Futures, Livelihood Impact Fund,  Jack Dorsey’s #startsmall, CIFF and Echidna Giving. Educate! won a 2018 Klaus J. Jacobs Prize and a 2015 WISE Award, and has been highlighted by the World Bank’s S4YE's Impact Portfolio, an Al Jazeera documentary, BBC, The Brookings Institution as one of 14 case studies on scaling education, and the Gates Foundation as a Goalkeepers Accelerator. In 2022, we received a catalytic investment from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott to scale our systems change work.

Educate!'s long-term vision is to design solutions that measurably impact millions of youth across Africa each year.

Good to note: To Our Awesome Applicants! 🚀💫

We know that incredible candidates sometimes hesitate to apply if they don’t meet every requirement. If this role excites you, we encourage you to apply! 

We’re looking for passionate individuals who believe in our mission and can bring unique perspectives to our team—not just those who check every box. We value diversity and strongly encourage women and individuals from all backgrounds to apply.

Position Overview 

Educate! is looking for a proactive and detail-oriented Finance Coordinator to join our growing team in Kenya. In this critical role, you will be at the core of our financial operations, ensuring seamless cash flow planning and efficient disbursement of funds across various payment platforms. You will also play a key role in managing relationships with stakeholders and ensuring compliance with tax and statutory obligations.  

As we continue to expand our impact, your expertise will be essential in fostering collaboration between Finance and the rest of the organization. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment, are passionate about financial management, and are eager to contribute to a mission-driven organization transforming education, we’d love to have you on board!

Performance Objectives

1. Disbursements (50%)

• Timely processing of all payments
• Advising staff on proper procedures for the various types of payments
• Liaising with banks, aggregators and digital payment platforms to ensure smooth payment processing
• Liaising with procurement and product teams to ensure set payment days are adhered to
• Following up with approvers and bank signatories
• Filing and payment of taxes including withholding tax & NSSF 

 2. Budget Management and Controls (20%)

• Involved in the preparation of periodic budgets and updates
• Together with the Finance Manager, collaborate with budget managers by sharing budgets and providing support and clarity where needed.
• Ensure budgets are entered into the accounting system.
• Ensure Budget Versus Actual reports are prepared and have clear explanations at month-end.
• Share monthly Budget Versus Actual reports with budget holders for ease of planning.
• Share quarterly Budget Versus Actual reports with clear explanations
• Monitor the budget memos and update the approved budgets and Quickbooks with the Budget Memos where needed

3. Cash Flow Planning & Forecasting (20%)

• Sourcing and preparation of cash projections from all departments
• Preparation of cash requests for the US office
• Exchange rate negotiations with bank treasury teams

4. Trainings (10%)

• Training staff on finance procedures and processes
• Orientation of new staff
• Do feedback sessions on finance for both field and office staff

Qualifications 

• BSc degree in Finance, Accounting or Business administration (Accounting /Finance), B. Commerce with proficiency in Ms Excel and Quickbooks.
• Professional Qualifications, (CPA K/ACCA)
• 5 Years Experience working in a Finance & Accounting environment.
• At least 3 years of experience in finance and accounting, financial analysis (including gathering, evaluating, presenting, and reporting financial information to management and external stakeholders). 
• Solid experience in coordinating audit activities and managing reporting, budget development and analysis, accounts payable and receivable, general ledger, payroll taxes, and accounting.  
• Entrepreneurial drive, proven ability to take ownership, lead the team’s combined learning and a collaborative, data-oriented approach to problem-solving.
• Possess and display high ethical and business standards.
• Fits our Five Culture Tenets (see What is Educate! About? below); Learn more by looking at Educate!’s culture deck here

What We Offer 💼

• A vibrant, mission-driven environment with a supportive and fun team.
• Flexibility— Hybrid work environment to empower you in your mode of work. 
• Competitive salary based on experience.
• Healthcare coverage for you and your dependents, work laptop, Internet & call stipend
• Learning & growth opportunities
• This is a Fixed term  contract with a possibility of extension based on performance

Application Process: Rolling basis, interviews happening soon!

Our Culture & Tenets(Values) 🌱

We’re ambitious. Are you? Educate! is growing fast, so new opportunities are opening up and expanding all the time. We’re inspired by people with drive, and we love to help them reach their full potential. We expect everyone at Educate! to contribute above and beyond their job description, grow their skills, and advance their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey of their careers, and we are committed to supporting our staff members on that journey. 

1. We put Youth First, Impact-Obsessed - We are purpose-driven, focused on impact, and prioritize what truly matters. We listen to youth, design our efforts around their needs, and ensure every dollar creates transformative experiences they value.
2. We Exceed Expectations - We take pride in going above and beyond to achieve the best results—proactively identifying problems and seeking solutions without waiting or stopping at what's requested.
3. We Are Always Learning - We are committed to seeking and applying new knowledge and ideas. We stay open-minded and continuously try new things, experiment, grow, and improve. We invest in learning for ourselves and our teams.
4. We are One Team, Many Views - We value all individuals, believe diverse ideas and open dialogue drive excellence, foster a supportive and respectful environment where everyone can freely express themselves. We work as one team and prioritize the organization's mission over personal or team interests.
5. We have the Startup Mindset - We innovate relentlessly to grow our impact, we never think “we have arrived” or “we’re done.”We constantly challenge the status quo, embrace change, and move quickly toward our vision. Unafraid of failure, we question anything that hinders progress.

Every person at Educate! — from interns to the executive director — is evaluated by how they live up to these five cultural tenets. They are at the core of how we achieve our mission and why we work as well as we do.  Educate is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all who interact in our community. In creating this environment, we encourage people from a variety of cultures, backgrounds and life experiences to join our diverse team. 

We’re committed to ensuring all candidates are screened for child and youth safety. As part of the process, you’ll need to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct. Educate! reserves the right to withdraw employment offers if any risks to youth are identified.